Why is Hooda scared if he is innocent, asks Khattar

Gurgaon: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday asked why his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda was scared of a CBI probe into the Gurgaon land scandal if he was innocent.

Khattar said the Central Bureau of Investigation has been conducting an independent probe into the 400 acre fraud near Manesar. Khattar said Hooda has been challenging in the state assembly any inquiry ordered into the Rs 1,500 crore land scam, calling it politically motivated.

Hooda has demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter. Khattar said a judicial inquiry can be ordered if the CBI asks for it and that there was no difference between a judicial or CBI probe.

The CBI raided the homes and offices of former Haryana Chief Minister Hooda, two former IAS officers and others on Saturday over alleged irregularities in the purchase of 400 acres of land from farmers. The raids took place in 20 locations in Delhi and Haryana.

The land. whose market value then was above Rs 4 crore per acre, totalling about Rs 1,600 crore, was allegedly bought by private builders from land owners for only about Rs 100 crore. The CBI has registered a case of fraud, cheating and corruption against unknown politicians, builders and their agents.